Biography
The Orielles assembled during their teenage years, infusing their work with youthful drive while seeking cues from earlier decades. Early efforts such as the 2018 album Silver Dollar Moment displayed a propulsive, dance-focused approach shaped by the brighter strains of 1980s post-punk, Afro-funk's supple grooves, the hypnotic layers of late-1990s indie dance, and the melodic warmth of classic indie pop. Subsequent artistic development steered the group toward more ambitious and structurally intricate territory; 2022's Tableau employed fresh studio methods including the assembly of sampled fragments and absorbed currents from techno and avant-garde improvisation.
Halifax, England, served as the birthplace for the Orielles when sisters Sidonie B and Esmé Dee Hand-Halford crossed paths with Henry Carlyle Wade at a birthday gathering. Still adolescents, the three forged a connection through mutual enthusiasm for '90s acts including the Pixies and Sonic Youth as well as cinema, and they promptly began composing material together. Esmé took vocals and bass, Sidonie handled drums, and Henry played guitar, yielding a hybrid that absorbed Afro-pop, disco-funk, Madchester, and indie pop. Releases began in 2014 with the single "Entity" on Scruff of the Neck, the Hindering Waves EP on Cacti, and the cassette single "Yawn" for Swirly Records. Momentum continued through 2015 with the singles "Space Doubt" and "Joey Says We Got It" amid live shows and academic commitments.
Only the Jobin EP on Art Is Hard Records appeared in 2016, yet it attracted Heavenly Records, which offered a contract. Early the following year the band entered the studio with producer Marta Salogni to cut their first Heavenly single, the nearly nine-minute "Sugar Tastes Like Salt," which broadened their palette with heightened dance elements. An Andrew Weatherall remix of the track followed, an outcome that gratified the '90s-oriented trio. Festivals filled the summer while further sessions with Salogni shaped the debut album Silver Dollar Moment, a collection of earlier singles and new songs that preserved the group's youthful vitality. The record surfaced in early 2018 and prompted a sold-out U.K. tour; keyboardist Alex Stephens joined the live configuration and soon became a full member.
After the tour the Orielles prepared their second album once more with Salogni at the helm. The material reflected expanded reference points that encompassed Turkish psych, Korean electro—underscored by a late-2018 cover of Peggy Gou's "It Makes You Forget [Itgehane]"—Italian film scores, and dance punk. Heavenly issued Disco Volador in February 2020, after which U.K. and U.S. tours were scheduled yet ultimately canceled by the global pandemic. The trio instead created the art film La Vita Olistica and hosted a monthly radio program that explored previously unfamiliar genres. These activities, combined with a deliberate shift in working methods that utilized samples, Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, and Wadada Leo Smith's graphic scoring, encouraged spontaneous improvisation later shaped into lean, potent compositions that favored measured elegance over earlier exuberance. Heavenly released the resulting album, Tableau, in October 2022.
Halifax, England, served as the birthplace for the Orielles when sisters Sidonie B and Esmé Dee Hand-Halford crossed paths with Henry Carlyle Wade at a birthday gathering. Still adolescents, the three forged a connection through mutual enthusiasm for '90s acts including the Pixies and Sonic Youth as well as cinema, and they promptly began composing material together. Esmé took vocals and bass, Sidonie handled drums, and Henry played guitar, yielding a hybrid that absorbed Afro-pop, disco-funk, Madchester, and indie pop. Releases began in 2014 with the single "Entity" on Scruff of the Neck, the Hindering Waves EP on Cacti, and the cassette single "Yawn" for Swirly Records. Momentum continued through 2015 with the singles "Space Doubt" and "Joey Says We Got It" amid live shows and academic commitments.
Only the Jobin EP on Art Is Hard Records appeared in 2016, yet it attracted Heavenly Records, which offered a contract. Early the following year the band entered the studio with producer Marta Salogni to cut their first Heavenly single, the nearly nine-minute "Sugar Tastes Like Salt," which broadened their palette with heightened dance elements. An Andrew Weatherall remix of the track followed, an outcome that gratified the '90s-oriented trio. Festivals filled the summer while further sessions with Salogni shaped the debut album Silver Dollar Moment, a collection of earlier singles and new songs that preserved the group's youthful vitality. The record surfaced in early 2018 and prompted a sold-out U.K. tour; keyboardist Alex Stephens joined the live configuration and soon became a full member.
After the tour the Orielles prepared their second album once more with Salogni at the helm. The material reflected expanded reference points that encompassed Turkish psych, Korean electro—underscored by a late-2018 cover of Peggy Gou's "It Makes You Forget [Itgehane]"—Italian film scores, and dance punk. Heavenly issued Disco Volador in February 2020, after which U.K. and U.S. tours were scheduled yet ultimately canceled by the global pandemic. The trio instead created the art film La Vita Olistica and hosted a monthly radio program that explored previously unfamiliar genres. These activities, combined with a deliberate shift in working methods that utilized samples, Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, and Wadada Leo Smith's graphic scoring, encouraged spontaneous improvisation later shaped into lean, potent compositions that favored measured elegance over earlier exuberance. Heavenly released the resulting album, Tableau, in October 2022.
Albums
Singles
Wasp
2026
Tears Are
2026
You are Eating a Part of Yourself / To Undo the World Itself
2026
Three Halves
2025
The Goyt Method
2023
Tableau 002
2023
Tableau Remixes
2022
Beam/s
2022
Blue Suitcase (Disco Wrist)
2018
Sugar Tastes Like Salt
2017
Live
